Psychoactive drugs (e.g., typical psychoactives and atypical psychoactives) are used to help manage symptoms of schizophrenia, the manic phase of manic depression, and other psychotic disorders. These drugs are typically available in several formulations: oral tablets, dissolving tablets, and intramuscular injection. One significant side effect of psychoactive drugs is weight gain (Wirshing D A, Wirshing W C, Kysar L, Berisford M A. (1999) Novel psychoactives: comparison of weight gain liabilities. Journal of Clinical Psychology 60 358-63) especially at high doses (Green B (1999) Focus on olanzapine Current Med Res Opin 15 79-85).
Patient compliance is of vital importance in conditions such as schizophrenia for which psychoactive drugs find utility. It is often observed that patients refuse to take oral medication for reasons associated with the symptoms of their condition. To improve patient compliance, it would be beneficial to develop a controlled release formulation of an psychoactive drug that provides steady therapeutically useful plasma levels of drug over a sustained period of time.